I Can't Take It Anymore
by Fearless.Leo
Summary: Scar is finally dead, no longer threatening the State Alchemists. When his cousin, Ramul, gets wind of who killed Scar, he'll stop at nothing to kill him. Will Ed be able to handle it all?  RATED M
1. Worthless Cur

This does not follow any plot or part of the manga. At this point, Ed is about 17 and Al is human for my purposes. There are no homunculi. Scar is also dead, killed by Ed.

WARNING- RATED M- Suicide, extreme swearing, graphic violence

Disclaimer- I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. Hiromu Arakawa, the best manga artist ever, does. I hope she can forgive me for torturing her characters so horribly.

Ramul fell to his knees. How could Scar be dead? His cousin, the most ferocious fighter he'd ever known, dead. Scar had even been equipped with alchemic powers. It wasn't possible. Then Ramul heard who had killed him. Edward Elric. The Fullmetal Alchemist.

He would pay. Edward would be forced to suffer as Scar must have suffered. How he was suffering now without his cousin. Without Scar, Ramul was alone in the world. There were always the other Ishbalans, but it just wasn't the same.

A look of pure hatred stole into his eyes as he stood slowly. His mind was consumed with one thought- avenge Scar, his only family. He returned to his tent, quickly grabbing a dagger from his bag. With that, he sat out towards Central without a second glance back at the slums. He wouldn't return unless he got revenge or he was killed too.

x-x-x-x

Edward and Alphonse trudged through the streets of Central. It had rained for the past days and just recently abated for a few brief hours. The clouds still drifted overhead, threatening with more rain every minute. The early-evening sun tried to break through but to no avail. The wind whistled desolately through the deserted streets, chilling the brothers.

Ed shoved his hands further into the pockets of his pants and burrowed his neck down further into the collar of his shirt. His red cape snapped in the wind behind him and his blonde, unruly hair blew this way and that. Next to him, his younger brother Al walked. He had his coat closed tightly and his hands were in the pockets.

They reached headquarters and were let in after Ed showed his pocket watch. They stalked upstairs to Colonel Roy Mustang's office. Without knocking, Ed walked in and sat on the couch. Al followed and politely bowed to his higher-up. "Good evening, Colonel." He took a seat next to his brother.

Roy turned from the window and nodded to Al and Ed. "Hello, boys. I take it your mission was successful?" He gave a slight glare to Ed's booted feet, which were covered in mud and propped on the coffee table.

Ed shrugged. "It was easy. The alchemist was right where you said he would be. We just surprised him and gave him the good Elric brother sneak attack." He winked at Al, who just smiled. Ed then threw a pocket watch towards Roy, who caught it. He opened it and saw an inscription on the inside of the man's name. "Proof, in case you didn't believe me."

Roy nodded and set it on his desk among the piles of paperwork. He took a seat at his chair and leaned forward, fixing the two boys in his gaze. Ed had his eyes closed and was half asleep. Al was waiting patiently for Roy's orders. Roy smiled. "Why don't you two stay with Havoc tonight? He said it was okay. He'll actually be leaving on an assignment tomorrow so if you two could behave, he'd let you stay there until he returns."

Ed smirked and opened his eyes. "Havoc, huh? I guess it's better than staying with you." He stood and stretched, motioning to his little brother. "Let's go, Al." He nodded to Roy and walked out. Al bowed again and nodded as he left. They trudged through the streets once more, but it was only a few blocks to Havoc's apartment.

Havoc let them in after they knocked and showed them to the living room. "Well, you two look tired. How about we eat some dinner and then off to bed? I have one bed and 2 couches…" He shrugged and the brothers smirked.

"We can just turn the couches into bed easily. You can keep your bed. It's no problem," Al said. He stood and headed to the kitchen. "I'll help you make dinner." Havoc smiled his thanks and headed to the kitchen. Ed remained on the couch, waiting patiently.

In about 20 minutes, Ed was called into the kitchen. He was greeted by the sight and smell of rolls and chicken soup. Al smiled. "It's the best I could do on short notice."

Havoc laughed. "It's better than I do most of the time!" He motioned for the brothers to sit down and eat. During dinner, they laughed and talked about everything. Afterwards, Havoc cleaned up. "You two sleep. I'll be gone tomorrow, so just don't burn the place down, alright?"

After quickly transmuting the couches into suitable beds, the brothers laid down. They quickly fell into a deep sleep as the moon peeked out from behind a cloud, illuminating the streets of Central. The only sign of life was a single figure, holding a glinting knife.


	2. Alea Iacta Est

The title of this chapter means 'the die is cast'. It's what Julius Caesar said when crossing the Rubicon River into Rome with his army. Basically it means 'what has happened has happened'.

The next morning, when the sun broke over Central, Al sat up groggily. Havoc was in the kitchen heating up leftovers. As Al struggled to stand and overcome his tiredness, he heard the newspaper being slipped under the door. He trudged over to retrieve it before joining Havoc in the kitchen.

"Morning, Al. Sleep well?" Havoc smiled at him as he took a large bite of a roll. Al smiled and handed him the paper.

"As a matter of fact, I did sleep rather well. Thank you for letting us stay here, Havoc." He sat down across from Havoc and sighed. "Any interesting headlines today?"

Havoc nodded. "Yes. Apparently a guard to Laboratory 4 was killed last night. The only thing missing from his person was his gun, and there was no sign that the perpetrator even entered the laboratory. I bet Mustang'll have you two check it out." He eyed Al over the paper and grinned.

Al sighed. "Of course. Well I suppose I'll go wake up Brother." He stood and walked into the living room and prodded Ed in the side. Al's hand was slapped away by Ed's flesh one. Al sighed and rolled his eyes, jabbing Ed's stomach with one icy finger. Ed yelped and fell to the floor.

"Al," he moaned, "what's the big idea?" He rubbed the back of his head with his left hand, one eye closed as he groaned in pain. His shirt was half-off his stomach, and one pant leg was rolled up while the blanket was wrapped around his waist.

Al rolled his eyes and offered his hand to help Ed stand. Ed walked to the kitchen table and sat down with a 'thunk', stealing Havoc's second helping. He gobbled it up while glaring at the headlines. "Great, yet another assignment…"

Havoc laughed."Well you two better get down to HQ and see what Mustang wants from you." He stood and put his coat on as he lit up a cigarette. "I'll see you guys later. I'm heading down South with Fuery today. I'll be gone a while so just behave." He winked and walked out the door.

Ed grumbled as he put his jacket on and slipped his gloves over his fingers. Al smiled a little as he slipped his shoes on and headed out the door, Ed following.

In a few moments, they reached HQ. Mustang was actually waiting for them in the lobby. "I suppose you two know of what happened last night?" He didn't wait for an answer before pressing ahead. "And you probably already figured we wanted to reach the bottom of the case. So you two know what to do. Report back here tonight regardless of your findings." He walked away, not waiting for a reply or an acknowledgement.

Ed blinked once and shook his head. "Bastard. Doesn't give us any chance to ask anything or even speak!" Al rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Come on, Brother. The quicker we start the quicker we finish!"

The boys headed out to Laboratory 4 and found the front entrance marked by crime scene tape. A cloth laid on the ground, a mound rising in the middle and red stains everywhere. Major Armstrong was there waiting for them. "Greetings, Elric brothers. I see Mustang sent you out here. This guard was stabbed twice, once in the heart and once in the side. His gun was taken and no one entered the laboratory." His voice was low and serious.

Ed nodded as he knelt down and pulled the large cloth back, revealing the body beneath. He grimaced slightly but took in every detail: the size of the knife, the apparent depths of the wounds. "We'll get started right away, Major," he said as he stood. He turned to Al and nodded. His younger brother nodded and together they took off for the slums on the southern side of the city.

Armstrong called after them, "How do you know the assailant fled that way?"

Ed looked back and grinned. "We just do, Major! Trust us!" He waved and turned around, picking up the speed, Al matching his pace flawlessly.

When they reached the edge of the city, Ed stopped. "The slum is a little ways further, but let's check around here first." Ed walked towards an alleyway.

Al turned and walked to check a nearby abandoned shop. Ed turned back to Al and met him in the middle of the street. "Well, I didn't see anything. Let's check the slum."

"Alright Brother!" Al had barely taken a step when a shot rang out.


	3. Primary Assault

I may do some sections not in third person. This is just a head's up. :]

And I know that the characters seem a bit different from how they are in the anime/manga, but it's fanfiction. Get over it and enjoy the story.

When the 'bang' was heard, Ed's instinct instantly took over and he threw himself at Al, knocking him over. They hit the ground hard, Al groaning slightly. The bullet shattered a crater in the road and Ed growled. If he wouldn't have knocked Al out of the way…

He instantly stood up and hauled Al to his feet, shoving him towards the alleyway. He put a wall around them, protecting them from all sides. He heard someone yell, "Come out come out, Fullmetal Alchemist! Hiding will do you no good! I'll find you eventually!" The voice was slightly demented, but at the same time deep and strong.

Ed looked at his younger brother. The bullet hadn't touched him, but his face was a bit pale. It had really shaken the young alchemist up. "Al… Are you alright?" He put his left hand on Al's shoulder gently and Al nodded once before hugging Ed.

"I'm fine Brother. You saved me…" Al suddenly felt a huge rush of affection for his brother, but it seemed almost too strong for just that.

Ed smiled once and leaned back, punching his hand. "Let's get this guy!" He clapped and the wall disappeared, leaving them unsheltered. Instantly another shot rang out and the Elric boys both dove away, rolling once and landing on their feet. "He just has a pistol by the sound of it! At most he has 4 shots left!"

The direction from whence the shots came gave Ed and idea of where the attacker was. He and Al ran at the building and clapped the ground, creating hands to lift them up. 2 more shots rang out but the bullets missed them due to their acceleration. "He's on the roof! See him behind the pipes?"

Ed nodded. "Good eye, Al!" As they leapt onto the roof, one more bullet hit the ground at their feet. The assailant cursed. "Just come out and we'll go easy on you."

"Never! You military bastards deserve to die!" The man rolled out from behind the pipes and shot once more, aiming for Ed's heart. Al yelled something and Ed reacted, raising his right arm. The bullet pinged off. "Dammit, what the hell happened?"

Ed sighed with relief, shaking a bit from shock. His face was a mixture of fear and determination. "I'm the Fullmetal Alchemist, am I not?" He clapped and sent a wave of stone at the man. He dodged, but only just. He leapt onto the fire escape and the boys darted after him. When he hit the ground, he took off towards the slums.

"Damn, he got away!" Ed pounded the wall with his auto-mail fist. "And I know he was the perpetrator…"

Ed felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Al there. "Come on, Ed. Let's just go tell Mustang what happened." Ed consented and they headed back to HQ to report. When they walked into the office and sat on the couch, Mustang looked up expectantly.

Ed relayed news of the happenings to his superior and Mustang nodded. Once again these boys had narrowly escaped death. Would it catch them one day? "Well, you did good. Now we know where he fled and we can send a squad after him." Ed was about to protest but Mustang held up a gloved hand. "No complaints, Fullmetal. We sent you to find him and you did. Leave the capture up to us."

Ed grumbled as he left the office with Al and headed back to Havoc's. "I don't get why we can't catch him…" He kicked his boots off and sat on his bed, scowling at nothing in particular. Al sat beside him and hugged him tightly again.

"You were almost killed today, Brother! I'm glad he didn't let you go!" Al looked like he was about ready to cry as he rested his head on his older brother's shoulder. Ed looked down, a bit shocked at his reaction but he leaned down and hugged Al tightly to him.

"You were almost killed too, Al. If I hadn't knocked you down… The bullet would've hit your heart." Al looked up with wide eyes, but Ed just hugged him. "Hey, it's getting late." This was a total lie. It was only about 8 o'clock, but they had had a harrowing experience. "Let's clock out, k?"

Al nodded and crawled over to his own bed. Both boys snuggled under their covers and quickly fell asleep.


	4. Rehashing Old Wounds

Ok, when I said this wouldn't follow the plot of the manga, I didn't think ahead. I have to mention part of it but in this fanfiction, it all happened in the past.

_Italics_ means that the voice is being heard through the phone.

And I'm sorry my chapters are all so short… . I just work better with shorter ones.

When the sun rose the next morning, Al awoke and headed into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. He found some eggs and bread and started to work. A while later, Edward rose out of bed and staggered into the kitchen.

"I am NOT cut out for mornings…" He rubbed his head and huffed.

Al chuckled at his brother's disheveled appearance. "Then why aren't you still in bed?"

That got Al a smirk from his older sibling. "Your cooking is amazing and I am starving. Simple as that!" He sat down and waited patiently for Al to finish and serve up 2 helpings of scrambled eggs and toast. Both brothers ate in silence, relishing their food.

After cleaning up and getting dressed, Ed picked up the phone and called Winry.

"_Hello, Rockbell Auto-mail shop. This is Winry speaking. How may I help you?"_

Ed smiled at the voice of his mechanic and childhood friend. "Hey, Winry. It's Ed. Do you think you could come up to Central for a day and give me a tune-up?"

A huff came from the other end of the phone. _"What did you do this time? Oh, never mind tell me later. If you can get the ticket for me I'll come up now. Meet me at the station ok? See ya!"_ Without another word, Winry hung up the phone and began to pack all the necessary things for the trip.

Ed rolled his eyes and hung up the phone. "She'll be coming up on the next train if I can get the tickets in time. I suppose I should call the station…" He picked the phone up once more and arranged for the ticket to be there for Winry at the Risembool station.

The boys headed out from the apartment and into town. Al wanted to know what happened with the case, as did Ed, so they headed to Mustang's office, Ed more grudgingly so.

Al raised a fist to knock on the door, but never got the chance. Ed just opened it and strode in, sitting on the couch. Roy was on the phone, apparently talking with a woman. He laughed, almost giddily like a schoolboy and said, "I have to go Charlotte… I'm sorry, but duty calls sweetie! I'll call again later! Bye." He nestled the receiver back on the hook and turned to the boys.

"Yes, Fullmetal? I suppose you want an update on the case, yes?" With a nod from Ed, he continued. "Well we pursued the fugitive but weren't able to apprehend him. He didn't leave much of a trail. However, based on what he said to you, we have reason to believe that he may be in Central still."

Al looked worried but Ed just grinned, a bit evilly. He turned to Roy, an innocent look on his face. "Well, we'll be careful Mustang. Don't worry about us, alright? Thanks for the update!" He quickly stood and pulled Al out of the room. Once outside, Al questioned Ed.

"Brother, why did you pull me out so suddenly? Don't tell me you plan on searching for him!" Al looked incredulously at his brother. It was so like Ed to do this type of thing. "What is it he said to you again?"

"'You military bastards deserve to die' is the exact phrase he used. I think he…" Ed paused and his eyes widened a little. The scene on the rooftop played back through Ed's head and he leaned against the fence surrounding HQ.

Al looked at him worriedly. "Brother, are you ok? What's wrong?" He put a hand on Ed's shoulder.

Ed shuddered a bit and met his brother's gaze. "Al, that man… His voice, his skin… He sounded like… He looked like…" It couldn't be… could it? He was dead. Ed had killed him himself. It wasn't pleasant, but in an attempt to attack, he had impaled himself upon Edward's blade. He watched the body be taken away and someone would have reported if he had been alive…

Al's voice wrenched him back from his musings. "What did you say Al?"

"Who do you think it is, Brother? Do you have an idea?" Of course Ed had an idea. Ed always had an idea.

Ed nodded, slowly forming the words. "It's not him, but I know that he either was close to or related to him…"

Al narrowed his eyes a bit from worry. "Who is 'he,' Brother? You don't mean…" Ed had said 'skin,' which meant it hadn't been the normal shade of an Amestrian. That meant…

Ed almost choked on the word, hatred and fear building inside him. That man had almost killed Al, and how this new person had almost succeeded as well. Al whispered the name fearfully at the same time.

"Scar."


	5. Exploding Revelations

So I may not have the lay-out of Central City completely correct, but as I always say- it's fanfiction, so get over it.

Winry's train arrived promptly and she was greeted by the Elrics. They all walked back to Havoc's house together, chatting about the recent happening around Risembool. When they reached the apartment, they went in and Winry set up shop in the living room. Ed took off his shirts and reclined on one of the couch-beds.

Winry got started with the tune-up and noticed the dent in the plate. "Ed… What's this dent for? It looks like an impact point…" Ed turned away and refused to meet her eyes. Winry glared and waved her wrench. "Edward Elric, you tell me what this is or I'll clonk you one!"

Ed turned and met Winry's eyes slowly. "We were investigating a murder of a guard. The man that killed him shot at us. I knocked Al down once and blocked another bullet with my arm. We're fine though."

Ed couldn't tell if Winry wanted to cry or hit him, but he just sighed and closed his eyes. Winry's voice was quiet. "You stupid boys. Always in danger…" She quickly finished her adjustments on his arm and packed up her equipment.

Ed stood and moved his shoulder in a circle as he always did, making sure the changes felt ok. "If you want to head back out to Risembool, I'll walk with you back to the station…"

Winry cut in. "It's fine. I want to visit Mr. Hughes again. He said I could stay with him and I think I'll take him up on that offer. I love Gracia's cooking a lot too." She smiled. "I'll see you guys later."

She waved as she left, closing the door behind her. Ed turned to Al. "I think maybe we should go check out the slums again, don't you?"

Al nodded. "Let's take a guard though, so he can drive us. It'll be quicker." Ed grudgingly agreed, and the pair set off towards Central Command. Once there, they sought out Mustang, but he was currently out of the office. Instead, they found Hughes, who was just leaving.

"Hello Hughes! Winry was just heading over to your place. Would you happen to have an officer you can spare to drive us out to the slums?" Ed waved at his superior and walked over.

Hughes smiled back. "Hello boys. If you want a car and an officer, just head down to the front and ask the guard. And by the way… Elicia is turning 3 tomorrow! Want to see pictures?" He reached into his pocket to extricate his wallet.

Ed laughed nervously. "No, that's alright Hughes. We've seen her picture plenty. Plus we're in a hurry. See ya!" The brothers scurried downstairs, where they easily procured a vehicle and a driver. Hughes just shrugged and turned to show his pictures to a nearby officer.

On the way to the slums, Ed and Al talked in hurried whispers, making their plan on where they would look. The driving officer gave them an odd look. "If you guys are looking for the murderer, Colonel Mustang is currently looking into that. So I wouldn't get any more involved."

Ed waved a hand. "We were the ones that gave him the clue to send him in this direction. We are going to help catch him, since we could recognize him easier. We saw him, after all."

A few more minutes passed in silence. The wind blew gently through the car, flowing in the open windows and carrying the sweet scent of the outdoors with it. Ed looked out the windshield, seeing how close they were. What he saw was something fly into the middle of the road, bounce twice, and come to a stop. There was a small flame and it was disappearing.

Al saw it at the same time and yelled, "It's a bomb!"

Ed shoved his brother to the right door and reached up to the front, grabbing the wheel and turning it to the right. They didn't pass over it, but it was within a foot of the car when it exploded.

For a small bomb, it had a lot of force. The explosion sent the car flying sideways, knocking it into a guard rail. It rested there for a split second before the rail gave way and it and the car tumbled down an incline. The car landed with a jolting crash on the shore of a river and slowly sunk further and further into the rushing water. It flowed into the car easily by way of the open windows, sinking it even faster.

Al was a bit disoriented from the crash and the driver was badly wounded. Ed shook his head and quickly sprang into action. He clapped, touching his hands to the roof. It opened totally and he hauled the driver out. He pulled Al up as well. The younger brother easily made it to the shore. Ed picked up the officer and leapt, barely making it. He laid the driver down and then cursed.

"My pocket watch fell out! I have to get it." Ed turned and leapt back to the car, which had remained stationary for the moment. After clambering in, Ed grabbed the watch off of the floor of the backseat. As he stood with a triumphant grin, the car shifted. It fell to the side and flooded instantly, sinking towards the bottom. The river, along with being fast and strong, was rather deep.

Everything was in slow motion due to the water. Ed clapped and reached for the side, trying to make a hole. It seemed to take forever, and he was running out of air. When the side opened, Ed swam, or more so walked, out. He couldn't swim with his auto-mail, so he clapped again and a large hand made out of dirt lifted him up to the surface. He proceeded to gulp in a few breaths of air before rolling off the hand and onto the shoreline. Al rushed over worriedly.

"Brother! Brother, why did you go back? You could have died! And all for a watch…" He helped Ed to sit up and looked back up to the road. No one had seen since they were in a more desolate part of town. "What about him? He needs help."

Ed touched the man's neck. "No, he's dead…" Ed's voice was a little strained as he struggled to stand. He coughed out a bit of water and turned to the incline. He weakly clapped his hands and made a crude staircase. Without waiting for Al, he climbed up and sat on the road. Al joined him and after a few minutes they began to walk towards the slums, intent on completing their mission.

When they were almost there, a car approached them. It was Mustang. Ed quickly clapped his hands to his outfit, drying it a lot. Mustang rolled down the window. "Fullmetal, what are you doing out here? Were you going to try to investigate again?" His eyes narrowed angrily.

Ed sighed and nodded, too tired to fight back. "We were… but there was a… bomb in the road. I swerved the car, but the bomb got us and we flipped down an incline into the river." He couldn't bring himself to meet Mustang's glare. "The driver… he's dead, down by the banks of the river. But I managed to save Al and-"

He was cut off by a wave of Mustang's hand and a harsh look. "That's enough, Fullmetal." His eye caught a scratch on Ed's cheek. "Get in. We're heading back to Central Command. We couldn't find any leads on the perpetrator." He signaled out the window and an officer from a car behind them stopped.

"Go down the embankment. An officer is down there, as well as the wreckage of the car. Although by the way Fullmetal looks, I would assume that it's partially or fully sunk. Report back to the Command Center when you are done." Mustang nodded to the officer, who saluted Mustang and headed down with a few others from the car in the rear.

Ed and Alphonse climbed into the car with a dejected sigh. Mustang decided to lay off since they had almost died. Again. How many times had they put themselves in harm's way? Too many. The ride back to Central Command was a quiet one. Once they reached it, Mustang turned to tell them to go get their injuries treated. However, they were already inching away from the car. With a glare Mustang just rolled his eyes and waved them away.

This is probably the longest chapter yet… Wow. I suddenly got my muse. … By re-reading my own story. XD I read it and was like, 'Wow, I wonder what happens next!' Then I realized that it was up to me to decide.


End file.
